Learn Career Skills That Will Keep You Relevant in Your Industry

The skills that you are learning in college won’t keep you at the top of your job for long in an ever evolving digital media industry. Most companies want employees who can constantly learn new skills that keep them relevant. Learning more will not only help you keep your current position, but could also qualify you for more challenging jobs.
Use eReaders to Check Out Free Library Books

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You don’t have to spend a lot of money to read the latest research in your field. As long as you have an ereader and a library card, you can check out books, articles, and research publications that will keep you ahead of your peers. Project Gutenberg also has hundreds of free books to download. It doesn’t matter whether you work in law, engineering, criminal justice, or teaching, you can find ebooks with information that appeals to your field.
Meet With Your Professional Peers

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It’s important to network so you can meet new people within your industry. That’s how you’ll build more connections and learn interesting ideas that could apply to your job. Sites like meetup.com make it easy to find people who work in your field. Create a group so you can talk to other professionals about topics that interest them, how they have solved problems at work, and how they expect the industry to evolve.
Get an Online Master’s Degree

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When you started your career, a bachelor’s degree might have gotten you in the door. Today, though, it seems like everyone has a degree. In fact, 30 percent of American adults now have a bachelor’s degree. That’s a lot of competition for someone who wants more from their career.
Since your job schedule can make it next to impossible to go back to college, it makes sense to earn your master’s degree online. You can get a masters degree of criminal justice, economics, literature, and just about any other subject from online institutions. You’ll learn more skills, have a new degree for your résumé, and get to stay ahead of your company’s fresh hires.
You Can Do More with a Smartphone Than Play Games

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Believe it or not, your smartphone can actually make you smarter. You just have to know what apps to use. Some educational apps that might apply to your career include:
• Languages, an app that helps you learn a variety of new languages so you can communicate better with partners, colleagues, and potential clients
• IBM Think, which teaches you the history of technology and explores recent evolutions so you’re more informed
• The Clean Dictionary, an app that lets you look up definitions without annoying ads
• Goodreads, an app that lets you download books, write reviews, and share your progress with others.
Some of these techniques might apply to your job more than others. Just try to find options that match your needs so you can stay ahead of the curve. Are there other tools you can think of that might help you stay relevant in your industry?
Sources:
http://voices.yahoo.com/top-10-adult-education-apps-ipad-11728294.html?cat=15
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/12/27/12-of-the-best-educational-apps-of-2012/